Felt News

Jones Victory Highlights Big Weekend for Felt Athletes

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Felt-sponsored athletes had a busy weekend, scoring wins and podium finishes in triathlons and stage races in the U.S. and Europe. While Garmin-Slipstream riders performed flawlessly in three tough mountain stages at the Tour de France, Felt triathletes posted their own successes in several key North American events.

Jones wins in Rhode IslandMichellie Jones took a major win at the Rhode Island Ironman 70.3 event on Sunday, beating runner-up Desiree Ficker by 3:25. Jones crushed it in the swim and came out of the water first, more than two-and-a-half minutes ahead of Ficker. Jones held her lead on the bike, coming out of T2 just ahead of American Heather Jackson. The Australian then pulled away on the run for a finishing time of 4:23:55.

In other Felt triathlon news, Becky Lavelle finished third at the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon on Saturday in Minneapolis.

Wiggins, Vande Velde top-10 at TourMeanwhile, the Garmin-Slipstream road racing team was busy in Europe over the weekend with half the squad competing at the Tour de France and the other half at the Tour of Austria.

At the Tour, Brit Bradley Wiggins and American Christian Vande Velde held their high overall standings with solid performances in the mountains. After three consecutive stages in the Pyrenees, Wiggins sat fifth overall and Vande Velde was eighth. Both rode aggressively on mountainous terrain through Spain, Andorra and France, staying close to the main contenders for the yellow jersey.

Italian Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2R) took over the race lead in Friday’s Stage 7 and held it through the next two stages. Heading into Monday’s rest day, Wiggins is just 46 seconds out of the overall lead and Vande Velde is 1:24 back.

Tuft just misses TT win in AustriaIn Austria, Garmin-Slipstream’s Canadian rider just missed victory in Saturday’s 26.3km time trial. Tuft finished second, just two minutes behind Dutch rider Koos Moerenhaut. American Thomas Peterson was the top overall finisher for Garmin-Slipstream. Peterson finished tenth overall in the eight-day race, which concluded on Sunday.